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Letter: Separate Christ’s work from political strategy
Op-Ed · July 24, 2014
Let us value perspective in our use of principles as governing tools.
Those who wish to identify us as a Christian nation would do well to separate our efforts to do Christ’s mission from advancing particular political and economic strategies. Jesus did not live in a politically free society such as ours, and he did not promote business and industry as important parts of a spiritual lifestyle. Why do we feel entitled to view those as important lenses for focusing on His mission?
When we promote the principle of smaller government and low taxes, we limit our ability to feed the hungry and heal the sick. Why do we think Jesus is happier with one than the other? When we rigidly insist on national sovereignty, we fail in our duty to God to show hospitality to strangers. Personal responsibility must be understood from the reality, now as in His time walking the earth, that people fail at this. Christ did not ask us to to judge who is worthy of help, or to remind people that they “should have thought of that beforehand.” Waiting for everyone to take up personal responsibility leaves societal problems growing faster than they can be solved. Waiting for a shrinking religious population to solve this is foolish, and lacking in grace and mercy.
When our definition of the “pursuit of happiness” is understood as materialism, or placing I, me, mine ahead of any greater good, we have walked away from Christ.
I find no gratitude towards God for his physical world which sustains our very lives, in the principle of a “free market” which allows financial bottom lines to determine how we care for His remarkable gift. The principle of a “right to life” loses its claim to moral authority from God, when we reduce the definition to “only human” life. Are we worshipping God the creator, or just the parts of the creation we resemble?
Do these principles do anything to manage our real-life problems?
Conservative sibling rivalry over who is more Christian brings to mind an image of two angry skunks, arguing over who smells better. Neither skunk smells good, and conservative “principles” continually place politics, vanity and love of money above love of Christ.
Laura Twing, Tipton
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